The SMSF Association has launched an online knowledge centre for SMSF trustees.
“It’s a really positive initiative and the SMSF world is such a big market, so as the peak body we really need to make sure that the industry does continue to [develop], both from an integrity point of view as well as an education point of view,” SMSF Association chief executive Andrea Slattery told selfmanagedsuper.
“The website [has been launched] and over the next few months people will have the opportunity to provide us with feedback about whether or not it’s meeting their needs, and we’ll evolve the program over time.
“But at the moment, it’s a feedback process.”
Slattery said the knowledge centre’s content would be created internally or by expert specialists within the association’s membership.
Commenting on whether the launch was solely trustees signing up to the program or becoming categorised as SMSF Association trustee members like existing professional practitioner members, she said it would be determined by the trustees’ needs.
“The trustee has the option to join for information and education, or for finding an expert or specialist, or whether they want to join as a member,” she revealed.
“There’s a range of touchpoints, put it that way.
“Anything that the trustees want to be involved in, there’ll be a cost for the servicing of the information and a cost for the education programs, and a cost for the other services.”
She highlighted the knowledge centre’s services were expected to evolve over time.
“We’ve got a lot of trustees showing interest so there’s an opportunity to go out through our membership over the next two months to make sure that the offering is the way that they like it,” she said.
The association decided to step into the trustee space following recent market surveys indicating a need for more education and information for trustees, she said.
